Suzanne Shears made the following submission on 2022-08-19

As an owner of property located at 1413 Coldwater Avenue, I am outlining my concerns to the proposed amendment to the zoning bylaw (File RZ 2021-006). In the report dated, July 13, 2022 (File number 3900-2338), it states in the background section that the property is being rezoned from low density residential (R2) to small parcel residential (R3) along the section of Quilchena from Main to Spring Streets. It further elaborates that rezoning to R3 enables the property to be subdivided. My question is whether once this parcel is subdivided, would there be opportunity for owners with adjacent lots to purchase those lots from the City of Merritt? On page 4 of the same document, it states that this would also enable the City to develop or sell the property for residential purposes so what if current home owners want to purchase those lots. The mapped lot boundaries in the materials (2014 report from Urban Systems – Greg Leighton) do not align with current lot lines. Was this made in error or will the lots be off-set from current lot boundaries? None of the mapping shows or reports speak to an easement on the back of Coldwater Avenue. Since I have backyard access from that section, I am interested in understanding if there are plans for an easement. There are already traffic concerns in that area of town with increased congestion, noise and speed. Has there been any thought around planning for the additional traffic and parking? Can the City’s infrastructure handle the additional housing? At earlier council meetings, there was a discussion about a flood study report with mitigation recommendations. I am interested in learning more about the results from this flood report and if adding housing to the floodplain was a recommendation. Logically, I suspect the recommendation will be to not add housing to the 100 year floodplain. If housing is added and has to be elevated or built up, it’ll create a situation where future flood water is held between my house and the new development placing my house at increased risk for damage. Building up homes will also create direct sightlines into others homes and backyards. What do you mean by temporary housing and who would access this temporary housing? There are a number of houses (and the apartment building at 1601 Wilson Street) in my neighbourhood currently empty, so would this temporary housing be for someone impacted by flooding? It is not logical to have people who have existing housing which have not been restored to access temporary housing and leave their own homes left to deteriorate. Programs should be made available to get community members back into their homes. Is there a bylaw to address vacant homes and apartment building? It’s almost been a year and some of these vacant homes would be available for ownership/renters if people had the assistance to renovate and make them safe. If they continue to remain vacant, they’ll just be open to vandals, squatters, fires, mold. What happens to this temporary housing once people impacted by the flooding are back in their own homes? Will this temporary housing be given/sold to other programs in town? Thank you for reading my concerns and I look forward to hearing how the City of Merritt intends to address these issues. Kind regards,